Environment design
The Church of Saint-Pierre stands at the center of Dead Air, not just as a landmark, but as a living symbol of war and loss. I modeled the structure in Blender using a modular asset workflow, crafting reusable components like walls, arches, and spires. This approach allowed me to iterate quickly and maintain design consistency across the environment.
To capture the aftermath of destruction, I used displacement and Boolean modifiers to simulate bomb damage—cutting into the structure with randomized cloud textures to form realistic gaps, cracks, and debris. Every damaged corner, shattered arch, and fallen wall was strategically placed to reflect real-world impact and convey the emotional weight of conflict.
Building the church wasn’t just a modeling task — it was worldbuilding. From layout to lighting, everything was designed to pull the player into a broken city that still whispers stories through its ruins.
Level & Environment Layout
The Church of Saint-Pierre is the emotional and visual heart of Dead Air. Inspired by real photos and architectural references, I spent weeks crafting its towering presence to ground the player in history. The blockout phase focused on layout, flow, and scale — ensuring the church interior and surrounding streets naturally supported both narrative and gameplay.
The level was designed for stealth and tension. The church acts as a visual anchor, while the broken streets, debris-filled squares, and collapsed structures create natural chokepoints and paths. I balanced line of sight, cover placements, and player routes to create immersive exploration without relying on quest markers or HUD cues.
From the placement of each wall to the lighting that filters through shattered windows, every decision was made to serve the story — a desperate search for hope in a city that’s already lost too much.
Modeling & Texturing
I followed a modular asset creation process to build the Church of Saint-Pierre and surrounding structures. Using Blender, I designed reusable components like arches, columns, and wall sections, which allowed for fast iteration and a consistent architectural style across the map.
To create believable war damage, I used displacement modifiers with cloud textures and Boolean cuts to simulate collapsed walls, broken spires, and shattered stone. Every damaged piece was placed with purpose, reflecting the chaos of bombing and combat.
Texturing was handled with a mix of tiling textures and trim sheets, focusing on dirt, wear, and historical accuracy. UV mapping and smart material use helped maintain visual quality without compromising performance.
This stage pushed my skills in both design efficiency and realism, shaping the environment into something both functional and expressive.
Lighting & Post-Processing
Lighting was key to capturing the mood of Dead Air. I focused on a soft, foggy ambience with subtle directional light to simulate late-afternoon war haze — enough to evoke stillness but hint at tension. Windows in the church were strategically placed to allow streaks of light through cracks and broken stones, giving the space emotional depth.
Post-processing in Unity played a major role. I fine-tuned bloom, color grading, vignette, and subtle film grain to create a cinematic tone. The final atmosphere feels cold, distant, and fragile — matching the game’s themes of isolation, pressure, and quiet urgency.
Lighting wasn't just visual — it was emotional. Every shadow, glare, and dust particle was designed to feel like part of the story.
Reflections & Learnings
Dead Air pushed me technically and creatively. I faced major hurdles with asset workflows between Blender and Unity, particularly around texture baking and shader compatibility. It forced me to adapt — switching to Photoshop-based workflows and learning how to problem-solve when traditional methods failed.
Lighting brought its challenges, especially when Unity's light baking system bugged out mid-project. Fixing it taught me not just a technical solution but a mindset of persistence.
Most importantly, this project helped me understand how every element — visuals, design, and performance — must work together to support emotional storytelling. I learned to balance ambition with optimization, vision with execution.